The NCAA tournament will be played at Madison Square Garden for the first time since 1961 in 2014. / Joe Camporeale, US Presswire

by Scott M Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

by Scott M Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

The tip-off to the college basketball season had New York flavor with a made-for-TV season-opener pitting No. 3 Kentucky and Maryland against each other at the brand new Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday.

Now, after a 53-year hiatus, the NCAA tournament will return to the mecca of basketball, Madison Square Garden.

Madison Square Garden, which has often hosted the NIT and Big East Tournament, will serve as the East Regional site in the 2014 championship. The Garden hosted 71 tournament games between 1943 and 1961.

The NCAA announced the news for the preliminary round sites of the 2014 and 2015 tournaments on Monday.

"The bid process was as competitive as ever, with 53 cities expressing the desire to be a part of one of the world's premier sporting events," NCAA vice president of men's basketball Dan Gavitt said in a statement. "We are thrilled for our hosts for the '14 and '15 tournaments, as they include a mix of cities that have proven over the course of several decades how to stage this great event, as well as cities that have come on to the scene in recent years and have embraced the tournament.

"And we are excited about the tournament returning to the world's most famous arena. Only three arenas have hosted more tournament games than Madison Square Garden, despite it being more than five decades since the last time it hosted. That gives you a great sense of the historical significance of bringing the tournament back there."